Monster Jam Comes To Raymond James Stadium
Tampa Fl. (February 10th, 2024)
What has forty eight wheels, eighteen thousand horsepower, leaps through the air and is wildly entertaining. If you guessed Monster Jam and the twelve huge trucks that make up the event you would be spot on. If you haven’t heard of it, Monster Jam is a competition between the trucks that visits your local arena or stadium. On Saturday night February eleventh Monster Jam brought their traveling series to Tampa Florida’s Raymond James Stadium for two fun filled days on monster truck competition and hijinks.
For those not in the know, the night features three different events that all the trucks compete in with the nights winner having the highest average score from all the events. The first event is a heads up tournament style elimination race between the trucks around a course set up in the arena that features plenty of jumps. Then there is a two wheel skills competition where the trucks have two opportunities to wow the crowd while performing on two wheels. Finally there is the freestyle competition where everyone has ninety seconds to show off their driving skills and perform insane tricks to wow the crowd. To add to the entertainment, all the fans get to vote on the skills competitions.
This nights show featured some of the wildest trucks you’ll ever see with larger than life names such as Grave Digger, JCB DIGatron, Max-D, Great Clips Mohawk Warrior, Megalodon, Bad Company, Black Pearl, Shaker, El Toro Loco, Lucas Stabilizer, Kraken, and Jester. These behemoths are seventeen feet long, stand over ten feet high and weigh some six tons. It’s no wonder they need some fifteen hundred horsepower to get them to quite literally fly around the course in the stadium.
With everyone seated in the stadium, one thing was quickly apparent, there is no such thing as a bad seat. The way the course is laid out you will always see plenty of action. The first event up was the heads up race. On each side of the course one truck would line up and then they would quickly complete a short several lap race that featured the trucks flying through the air when they hit the dirt ramps. The winner of each race moved on to the next round. The competition moved briskly as pair after pair raced until the final two left to face each other were JCB DIGatron and Great Clips Mohawk Warrior. Winning this portion of the night was JCB DIGatron.
As exciting as the racing is, the real fun is the two wheel skills and freestyle competition. For both of those events there’s a website where all the fans in attendance can vote for the performance that they like the best. This interactive part of the event really adds to the fun of the night. One after another the drivers and their trucks would perform donuts, wheelies, and other daring bits of driving on just two wheels. The level of cheers for each truck as they competed showed just how into the night everyone was. The skills challenge was won by fan favorite Grave Digger with a score of 9.087 that he earned by driving around the course on his two right wheels then going backwards on the two front wheels with the back end way up in the air.
After a well timed fifteen minute break it was now time for the freestyle competition. This was clearly the fan favorite event and with good reason. This is where the drivers unleashed every ounce of ability in themselves and their truck. One after one each truck would do one astounding stunt after another. Often times they would hit the ramps at full speed and would leap into the air quicker than a jet plane. When it was Grave Diggers turn and they drove into what seemed to be a giant dirt wall very slowly only to hit the throttle at the last second, this launched the truck into a somersault that drove the crowd into a frenzied cheer. Of course they got the highest score of the night with a 9.657 and by virtue of winning two events they would also be crowned winner of the night.
Monster Jam is a unique event in the motorsports world. It’s a part competition, part entertainment event that creates one of the most fun times you’ll have. The night moves quickly and crisply, which is great for families as it holds the little ones’ attention the whole time and it isn’t too long, so they won’t get restless either. Even if you don’t have kids, Monster Jam will bring out your inner child, as you marvel over the sights, sounds and skills of the monster trucks as they fly around your local stadium.
Monster Jam:
Raymond James Stadium: